Buck's Landing (A New England Seacoast Romance) Read Online Free

make you give up on Europe and stay here?”
    “I can barely handle things as they are,” Sofia said. “It’s me, a college student, and a couple of teenagers. I don’t know how my father managed it, honestly.”
    Judy took a deep breath. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but he worked his ass off, Sof.” She set her hands down flat on the table. “My Christopher is an alcoholic. Recovering. He knew your dad from AA. Jimmy’s passing hit him hard. Your dad crawled out of the bottle, but he knew how bad he screwed up with you. He felt like leaving you alone was his penance, and nothing Christopher said could convince him otherwise.”
    Sofia heard the criticism in her friend’s words. Judy didn’t let up.
    “He pulled Buck’s Landing back from the edge, too. He almost lost it. That’s what sent him looking for help. He didn’t want to lose your Grandpa’s property. He spent one whole winter getting sober and persuading the bank to give him a chance. Anywhere but here, that wouldn’t have flown, but people still give a shit here, you know?”
    “Yeah.” Sofia was at a loss.
    The arrival of their lunch diffused the moment.
    “I’m sorry.” Judy tossed the noodles in her salad. “I don’t want to fight. It was just hard, knowing how badly he wanted to make things right, and how proud you both are, and then—“
    “And then he died,” Sofia said, spearing a bite of rare steak from her plate. She pushed a spinach leaf and some chèvre on to her fork, but couldn’t bring herself to eat. Her stomach clenched. “And I have to live with that.”
    “Oh!” Judy looked stricken. “I’m a jerk. So much for a happy reunion.”
    “Judy,” Sofia said. “Stop. You’re just being honest with me. I used to love that about you. You always gave it to me straight.”
    Judy set her knife down. “I missed you.”
    “I missed you, too.”
    “Okay.” Judy shifted the conversation. “So, you have a lair. Somewhere called Columbia Heights. Anyone you drag there regularly?”
    Sofia nearly choked on half of a baby beet. “No. I’m not seeing anyone right now. Not regularly, anyway.”
    Judy’s attention zeroed in. “There is someone.”
    “Seriously,” Sofia said, “it’s not a thing. There’s a guy I’ve gone on a couple of dates with since the fall. He travels, though. Really.” She pursed her lips. “It’s not a thing.”
    “He travels enough that you’ve only gone out with him a couple times in three seasons?” Judy chewed contemplatively. “Is he a spy?”
    “No.” No, he’s not, she thought. “He does…um…personal security.”
    “Is he good looking?”
    “Yeah. Kind of weathered and tough.”
    Judy sighed happily. “I need someone to live vicariously through. Tell me a story about him.”
    “I met him at the bar of this fantastic French bistrot. I didn’t notice his earpiece, or the rest of the suits, when he came up and asked us if we could relocate. I was awful to him; I tossed my hair and told him he needed to work on his pick-up lines.” Sofia smiled at the memory. “And he flashes a badge and says, ‘Ma’am, I’m going to have ask you to move. Now.’”
    “Oh, my god!” Judy squealed. “Secret Service?”
    Sofia nodded. “My friend and I got a table, had a few more drinks with dinner, and by the end of the night I was convinced I had to apologize. He was clearly still on duty, so I asked our waiter to slip him my card. I wrote ‘I’m sorry I was rude,’ on the back, and we ran outside, giggling, to hail a cab.”
    Judy burst out laughing. “And he called?”
    “He did.”
    The rest of lunch passed easily enough. Judy was full of stories of their old friends, some still in the area, some scattered. Sofia loved the telling. Judy’s humor and ease with the memory of their shared youth put a shine on each dramatic tale of cheating boyfriends, scandals, births and marriages, crimes and secrets.
    Judy protested when Sofia took care of the check, but Sofia was